Gordon Kannirving
Gordon Kannirving was the eighth Council Premier of Daravia. He was best known for his work to repair relations between the parliament and the feudal aristocracy, centered around the Edicta Strengisi Destribiani. Early life Gordon Kannirving was born in 259 DR, as the third son of Earl Garth Kannirving. As the third son, he was not expected to ascend to the earldom, and so Gordon was given a broad education in the hopes that he would find a career path. By adolescence, Gordon had developed an interest in parliamentary politics, and so Garth hired retired councilman Bradwin Cropp to tutor him. Being from the noble class himself, Gordon was uncomfortable with the growing tensions between the nobility and the parliament. When he first ran for parliament in 282, he became a major supporter of Premier candidate Vincent Gardona, and that view allowed him to win a Council seat that year. Parliamentary career In Gordon's first parliamentary term, his major focus was on the upkeep of roads throughout Daravia. Victor I, a monarch largely uninvolved in municipal affairs, had allowed roads and waystations to degrade during his reign. Subsequently, upon taking his Council seat, Gordon quickly entered correspondence with local aristocrats. This venture worked slowly during Gordon's first term, due to the resentments that had to be reconciled, but Gordon did manage to fund a road repair project stretching from Castleton to his home province of Ivorath. With the road project thriving, Gordon began promoting himself as a point of connection between the parliament and the nobility. He redoubled his efforts in the wake of Vincent Gardona's collapsing power during the 287–92 term, and very deliberately propounded an image of himself as a more effective alternative to Vincent. Gordon's record of past cooperation with the aristocracy made him an appealing candidate to the Council, and in 292 he won the premiership by a large margin. Premiership After his inauguration, Gordon was quick to reach out to reigning monarch Marlin IV, hoping to codify a division of administrative power between the feudal and parliamentary authorities. The negotiations proved to be lengthy, especially as various constituents on each side attempted to impose their own demands, but Gordon and Marlin were able to present the Edicta Strengisi Destribiani in 294. Broadly, the Ed.Strengisi granted localized powers like judicial authority and urban infrastructure to the feudal nobility, while the parliament was given control of "interducal" matters like imperial tax collection and road maintenance. Devising and executing the Ed.Strengisi occupied most of Gordon's first term as Premier, but it also did a great deal to smooth the ongoing Council-feudal tensions. Thus, Gordon won a second term without much trouble in 297. Early in this term, the printing press reached Alarea; Marlin IV was a great enthusiast of the printing press, and Gordon began collaborating with him to import printing presses into Daravia. Significantly, Gordon purchased a printing press for the use of parliamentary scribes, in order to improve the accuracy and accessibility of parliamentary meeting minutes. With the parliament in a more stable and thriving position, the election of 302 saw many councilmen moving for the premiership; however, support soon coalesced behind three candidates. Bertram Hull was backed by a populist faction, calling for increased provision for the poor; Gerald Wright led the nobilist faction, promoting an elevation of parliamentarians and wealthy artisans. Gordon promoted himself as the "center candidate" between the two, and between his centrism and his responsibility for the current status quo, he won a third term in 302. Through the 302–07 term, Gordon devoted himself to the minutiae of parliamentary management, seeking to standardize procedures and cut down on wasteful motions and discussions. Although most modern historians respect Gordon's effort, it was unpopular among the councilmen, and in the 307 election Gordon was defeated by Gerald Wright. Later career Ousted from the parliament, Gordon spent much of 307–12 out of the public eye. He wrote a series of accounts about his time in the Council, hoping to provide a detailed and accurate window into the nature of parliament during his time. He described himself as "restless" during those years, though, and consequently ran for parliament again in 312. Again having won a seat, Gordon dedicated himself to his earlier goal of promoting efficiency in Council debate. The Sunicar Revolutionary War, lasting from 313–317, became a prevailing issue throughout Gerald Wright's second term; debate gripped the Council over whether to assume a military role. Gordon personally called for the continuation of a civilian role, citing that the Ed.Strengisi placed conscription and military command in feudal hands and fearing that a parliamentary army would cause deterioration in trust. Ultimately, in early 317, Marlin IV died and the loss of Sunica bisected the Daravian empire. Consequently, unsureness and anxiety permeated the parliament, and in 317 Gordon was reelected as a safe and reliable candidate. Gordon spent much of his last term working to maintain good parliament-nobility relations in the wake of the disastrous war; he also promoted sea travel to allow for travel between western and eastern Daravia. After the conclusion of his term, Gordon retired for good, and lived out his days in Ivorath until dying in 326. Personal life Gordon married Jean Pulkham, a noblewoman of comparable stature, in 280. The couple had two children in the ensuing years. By all accounts, Gordon and Jean were close; after Jean's death in 315, Gordon threw himself deeply into his work to cope. Some attribute this single-minded focus on Council work to Gordon's 317 reelection. Category:Daravians Category:Elected Officials Category:Parliament Heads Category:Nobles